Review: The 1975 – ‘Love Me’

This funky, 80s-inspired track really does grow on you and represents a new pop era for the band. The 1985, anyone?

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Introduced as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record on Radio 1 earlier this week, ‘Love Me’ is The 1975’s first official release since their self-titled debut album in September 2013, and the funky single does not disappoint.

Alongside a revamped pink aesthetic, ‘Love Me’ seems a distance away from their first record, as the band enter a new era with a far more pop-orientated sound. Clearly influenced by the band’s love for 1980’s pop, murmurs of David Bowie, Duran Duran and Prince can be heard throughout. Featuring catchy guitar riffs, groovy vocals and even some sax, this track really does grow on you upon further listening.

Speaking to Annie Mac following the track’s premiere, frontman Matthew Healy states that ‘Love Me’ explores the narcissism surrounding the band’s rise to fame, and the somewhat rebellious nature of the lyrics such as “next thing you’ll find you’re reading about yourself on a plane, fame, what a shame! (Oh!)” give us this impression fairly explicitly. “We want to be ambassadors for this generation” adds Healy in the interview, as he responds to his bold, perhaps unnecessary claims that “there’s a lot lacking in pop music these days” and “there’s just not enough good bands.”

With a UK tour starting next month and a 17-track album to follow in February, entitled the rather extensive I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It, it remains to be seen whether they will fulfil this promise.